The practice of Necromancy can be traced to ancient Greece, Rome, and Persia. An ancient Greek spell calls upon the powers of the mighty Kore, Persephone, Ereshkigal, Adonis, Hermes and Thoth, to bind the dead, and the Greek geographer and historian Strabo refers to Necromancy as the principal form of divination amongst the people of Persia. Necromancy was also widely used by diviners, occultists, and magicians of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

The classic case of Necromancy is the Witch of Endor, described in the Bible (1 Samuel 28), who summoned the spirit of Samuel in the presence of Saul. This biblical episode was widely accepted as irrefutable evidence for the existence of witchcraft.

"When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you."

Necromancy (from Greek words meaning a dead body' and 'divination'), a word corrupted by medieval Latin writers into nigromantia, can be divided into two main branches: divination by means of ghosts, and divination from corpses, both of which represent related forms of forbidden knowledge.

The second method led to the disinterment of corpses and rifling of graves for the grisly charms which magicians and witches considered necessary for the effective performance of the magical arts.

According to a ritual described by Seneca, the Roman dramatist, the summoning of the dead involved not only a burnt sacrifice but a blood-drenched altar.

To evoke the dead the magician needed to obtain the help of powerful spirits, both for his own protection and to compel the corpse or ghost to submit to his will. According to necromantic tradition, there is a special nine-day waiting period that must be observed before successful necromancy can be performed. During this time, the necromancer prepares himself for the ceremony with long hours of meditation upon death, animal sacrifices, abstaining from sex, wearing stolen grave clothes, eating unleavened black bread, and drinking unfermented grape juice.

According to some grimoires, the flesh of a dog must also be consumed, as it is an animal sacred to the goddess Hecate, who presides over ghosts, death, and sorcery.

Following the necessary preparations, the necromantic ritual must be performed in a graveyard, beginning at the first stroke of midnight. The necromancer, standing inside a magic circle previously drawn around the opened grave, proceeds to recite a series of special incantations. The necromancer then opens the coffin lid and touches the corpse three times, commanding its disembodied spirit to reenter the dead body.

After the spirit satisfies the necromancer by giving him the sought information, the diviner then rewards the spirit by giving it eternal rest. This is done by either driving a wooden stake through the corpse's heart, burning it to ashes, burying it in quicklime, or by eating its flesh.

Furthermore, necromancers preferred summoning the recently departed, reasoning that their revelations were spoken more clearly; this time frame was traditionally of 12 months or less, following the person’s death. An alternative form of Necromancy was called Sciomancy, which consisted of divination by the shades or shadows of the dead.

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